Going into last month’s French Open, Norrie said he had been playing some of his best tennis during the clay-court swing and believed his level was similar to when he was a top-10 player three years ago.
His comments came after he had dropped towards the bottom of the top 100 – raising eyebrows at the time, but ultimately proving to be right.
A memorable five-set win over former world number one Daniil Medvedev set the tone, followed by victories against Argentine qualifier Federico Gomez and fellow Briton Jacob Fearnley before coming up short against Novak Djokovic in the last 16.
At Roland Garros he described his level as “vintage Norrie” and the way in which he grinded past Jarry was another example as he went one better here.
Jarry has fallen down the rankings because of an ear condition which affects his balance and vision, but has reminded everyone of his talent in six victories over the past fortnight, including a stunning first-round win from two sets down over eighth seed Holger Rune.
Opportunities against the world number 143’s serve are difficult to obtain and Norrie clinically took his chance in the first set to break for 5-3 before serving out.
A tight second set offered even fewer chances to either man, but it was again Norrie who struck at a crucial time.
Upping the aggression in his return of serve at the start of the tie-break led to a mini-break that he never relinquished, with a pinpoint cross-court winner on set point proving bold and brilliant.
The third and fourth sets were similarly balanced. With Jarry serving big and Norrie scrapping, it always felt likely they would be decided by tie-breaks.
Norrie led 4-2 in both but could not convert his advantage as Jarry roared back, but he reset wonderfully to eventually end his opponent’s resistance after striking early in the decider.
It sparked jubilant scenes in a partisan atmosphere on Court One, where Norrie has now won nine of his 10 career matches.
